'ic 


SNAP  SHOTS  FROM  PROCEEDINGS 
OF  RIVER  IMPROVEMENT  MEETING,  AT  GREAT 
NORTHERN  HOTEL,  MARCH  13,  1896. 


Published  bt  The  Association  fob  the  Impbovemen 


t  of  the  Chicago  River. 


E^XF^I^ANJ^TOreY. 


In  compiling  the  speeches,  letters  and  address,  the  aim  has  been  not  to 
make  full  report  of  this,  the  most  important  meeting-  ever  held  to  further  the 
improvement  of  Chicago  River,  but  rather  to  present  in  a  readable  form  a 
succinct  compilation  of  statements  and  statistics. 

Speeches  and  letters  of  the  following,  greatly  condensed,  are  presented: 

James  B.  Galloway. 

J.  P.  Tracy,  Deering  Harvester  Works. 

Marvin  Hughitt,  President  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railway. 

W.  G.  Purdy,  Vice-President,  Chicago,  Rock  Island   &  Pacific  Railway. 

L.  O.  Goddard,  Assistant  First  Vice-President,  Chicago  Burlington  &  Quincy 
Railroad. 

C.   H.    Chappel,    Vice-President  and   General  Manager,  Chicago  &  Alton 
Railroad. 

A.  J.  Earling,  Second  Vice-President  and  General  Manager  Chicago,  Mil- 
waukee &  St.  Paul  Railway. 
v._C.  L.  Rising,  Commercial  Agent,  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway. 

William  Livingstone,  Ex-President  Lake  Carriers'  Association. 

James  Davidson,  Vessel  Owner.  Bay  City,  Mich. 

Harvey  D.  Goulder,  General  Counsel,  Lake  Carriers'  Association. 

Alexander  McDougall,  General  Manager  American  Steel  Barge  Co. 

W.  H.  Harper,  Manager  Chicago  &  Pacific  Elevator  Company. 

Hugh  MacMillan,  Representing  Lake  Line  Agents'  Association. 

George  J.  Brine. 

W.  B.  Judson,  Representing  the  Lumber  Trade. 

Walter  S.  Bogle,  Representing  the  Anthracite  Coal  Trade. 

W.  D.  Kent,  Commissioner  of  Public  Works,  City  of  Chicago. 

Colonel  Richard  Burke,  Bureau  of  Engineering,  City  of  Chicago. 

E.  S.  Conway,  Secretary  W.  W.  Kimball  Company. 

John  V.  Parwell. 

Seneca  D.  Kimbark. 

General  Charles  E.  Pitz  Simons. 

P.  B.  Weare,  Chicago  Railway  Terminal  Elevator  Company. 


ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  CHICAGO  RIVEE. 


A  meeting  was  held  at  the  Great  Northern  Hotel  in  Chicago  on 
Friday,  March  13th,  1S96,  in  response  to  the  following  invitation,  sent 
out  by  the  executive  Committee  of  the  Association  for  the  Improvement 
of  Chicago  River. 

Chicago,  March  11,  189(3. 
Dear  Sir: 

A  meeting-  will  be  held  at  Parlor  K  38,  Great  Northern  Hotel,  on  Friday, 
March  13,  at  3  P.  M..  of  parties  interested  in  the  improvement  of  Chicago 
River  by  dredging  to  a  depth  of  16  feet  at  present,  and  by  adopting  a  plan 
whereby  a  depth  of  20  feet  can  be  obtained  in  the  future. 

The  importance  of  this  project  is  so  obvious  that  it  needs  only  the  sugges- 
tion that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  preserve  the  enormous  commerce  of 
Chicago  from  diversion  to  other  ports  at  no  distant  date. 

Chicago  River  is  under  the  jurisdiction  and  control  of  the  United  States 
Government,  and  the  obligation  to  keep  it  navigable  to  the  capacity  of  the  lake 
commerce  affected  is  very  apparent.  The  recent  report  of  the  U.  S.  Engineer 
has  thrown  a  doubt  on  the  propriety  of  doing  so,  which  should  be  at  once 
considered. 

Please  attend  the  meeting-  in  the  interest  of  your  business  and  property. 
Yours  respectfully. 

J.  S.  Dunham,  Chairman, 
Geo.  J.  Brine.  Murky  Nelson, 

Geo.  Merryweather,       B.  A.  Eckhart, 
John  C.  Spry.  T.  T.  Morford, 

W.  R.  Stirling,  L.  O.  Goddard, 

C.  K.  G.  Billings,  John  G.  Keith. 

Chas.  W.  Deering,  James  B.  Galloway. 

Homer  J.  Carr,  Wm.  H.  Harper, 

J.  C.  Ambler,  Secretary.  Geo.  E.  Adams. 

In  response  to  these  invitations  which  were  mailed  to  some  three 
hundred  representatives  of  the  A'aried  commercial,  manufacturing  and 
financial  interests  of  Chicago,  about  125  gentlemen  assembled  in  Parlor 
K  38  at  3  o'clock.  The  gathering  was  called  to  order  by  J.  8.  Dunham, 
who  called  the  Honorable  George  E.  Adams  to  the  Chair.  Homer  J. 
Carr  was  made  Secretary,  Mr.  Adams,  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Address,  consisting  of  himself,  James  B.  Galloway,  J.  P.  Tracy  and 
W.  H.  Harper,  read  the  address  prepared. 

ADDRESS. 

The  Association  for  the  Improvement  of  the  Chicago  River,  repre- 
senting large  commercial  and  manufacturing  interests  at  Chicago,  and 
representing  the  interests  of  navigation  on  the  northern  lakes,  has  asked 
congress  for  an  appropriation  of  $700,000  to  dredge  Chicago  River  and 
its  branches  to  a  depth  of  sixteen  feet  between  Belmont  avenue  on  the 
North  Branch,  to  Western  avenue  on  the  South  Branch.      This  appro- 


4  ON   BEHALF   OF   THE   CHICAGO  RIVER. 

priation  was  recommended  by  Major  Marshall,  of  the  corps  of  engineers, 
in  his  report  of  1893. 

We  should  not  deem  it  necessary  to  make  any  further  apj^eal  in 
behalf  of  the  improvement  of  the  Chicago  River  had  not  Major  Mar- 
shall, in  his  report  on  Calumet  River  and  harbor,  dated  February  21, 
1896,  recommended  large  appropriations  there,  on  the  ground  that  Cal- 
umet River  is  destined  to  become  the  principal  harbor  of  Chicago,  and 
that  the  Chicago  River  cannot  economically  be  made  navigable  for  the 
large  vessels  now  coming  into  use  on  the  lakes. 

We  cordially  approve  of  the  improvement  of  the  Calumet  River 
and  harbor.  We  believe  that  the  future  commerce  of  Chicago  will  need 
all  the  harbor  facilities  that  can  be  furnished  by  the  Chicago  River  and 
the  Calumet  River,  even  if  both  are  fully  improved.  We  strenuously 
protest  against  the  policy  of  improving  the  Calumet  and  neglecting  the 
Chicago  River,  for  we  insist  that  the  Chicago  River  will  be  hereafter, 
as  it  has  been  heretofore,  the  principal  harbor  of  Chicago,  and  must 
eventually  be  improved  to  meet  the  largest  demands  of  lake  naA'igation. 

AVHY    APPROPRIATIONS    APE    MADE. 

The  legitimate  purpose  of  national  appropriations  for  harbor  im- 
provement is  not  to  serve  local  interests,  but  to  benefit  national  com- 
merce. To  benefit  national  commerce  harbors  must  be  made  or  improved 
not  where  engineering  science  has  declared  that  centers  of  commerce 
ought  to  be,  but  where  centers  of  commerce  actually  are.  Whether  it 
is  wise  to  build  a  harbor  ten  miles  from  the  commercial  center  which  it  is 
intended  to  serve,  when  an  existing  harbor  can  be  improved  at  the  com- 
mercial center  itself,  depends  largely  on  the  cost  of  transporting  goods 
from  the  distant  harbor  to  the  railway  terminals  or  the  cost  of  removing 
these  terminals  to  the  new  harbor,  if  they  can  be  removed  at  all.  The 
new  harbor  might  be  built  for  half  the  cost  of  improving  the  old  one, 
and  yet  the  total  or  partial  abandonment  of  the  old  harbor  for  the  new 
one  might  involve  an  annual  loss  to  national  commerce  far  exceeding  the 
sum  necessary  for  the  development  of  both. 

It  is  not  safe  to  assume  that  a  river  penetrating  with  its  branches  the 
heart  of  a  great  commercial  and  manufacturing  city  must  necessarily  be 
an  inconvenient  harbor  for  the  commerce  that  centers  there.      Such  a 
harbor  may  have  its  drawbacks,  and  yet  may  serve  better  than  any  other 
the  actual  needs  of  commerce.      The  purpose  of  a  harbor  is  to  connect 
water  carriage  with  land  carriage.      The  closer  the  connection  between 
the  two  the  better.       If  goods  brought  by  water  for  local  consumption 
can  be  easily  distributed  from  the  dock  and  goods  in  transit  between 
one  distant  point  and  another  can  be  directly  transferred  from  vessel  to 
car,  or  from  car  to  vessel,  without  the  use  of  lighters,   drays  or  belt  j 
railways,  there  is  a  saving  in  the  cost  of  transportation  inuring  to  the  j 
producer  or  consumer,  or  both,  which  far  outweighs  the  additional  cost .' 
of  navigation  due  to  the  narrow  harbor  channel  or  the  frequent  bridges 
which  span  it. 

MUST    HAVE    BRIDGES. 

That  such  a  harbor  must  be  spanned  by  bridges  is  an  incident  to 
the  dense  population,  and  the  dense  population  is  at  once  a  cause  and  a 


ON   BEHALF   OP   THE   CHICAGO   RIVER.  5 

consequence  of  the  commerce  which  brings  vessels  there.  The  incon- 
venience of  bridges  spanning  the  navigable  channel  _i§  one  which  will 
always  attach  to  the  harbor  of  Chicago,  whether  that  harbor  is  in  the 
Chicago  River  or  in  the  Calumet.  The  Calumet  has  already  three  rail- 
way bridges,  over  which  hundreds  of  freight  and  passenger  trains  pass 
every  twenty-four  hours.  An  act  of  congress  authorizing  another  rail- 
way bridge  was  a  few  days  ago  favorably  reported  to  the  United  States 
senate.  More  will  be  authorized  as  the  harbor  is  developed  and  the 
population  grows. 

To  show  the  enormous  loss  to  national  commerce  involved  in  the 
substitution  of  the  Calumet  for  the  Chicago  River  as  the  principal  har- 
bor of  Chicago,  we  submit  a  comparative  statement  of  the  existing  dock 
frontage,  elevator  capacity,  railway  terminal  facilities,  shipments  and 
receipts  and  entries  and  clearances  for  the  two  rivers. 

CHANNEL  AND  LOCK  FRONTAGE. 

The  outer  harbor  of  Chicago,  including  the  breakwater,  has  been 
built  by  the  United  States  at  a  cost  of  $2,000,000.  It  is  intended 
mainly  to  serve  as  a  harbor  of  refuge  for  vessels  bound  for  Chicago 
River.  Several  slips  have  been  made  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railway 
Company  and  other  parties  in  the  outer  harbor  and  in  the  river  near  its 
mouth,  which  are  in  actual  use. 

The  inner  harbor  consists  of  the  Chicago  River  and  its  branches. 
It  has  a  channel  twelve  miles  long  between  Belmont  and  Western  ave- 
nues, and  a  dock  frontage  of  over  forty  miles,  including  slips.  Nearly 
all  of  this  dock  frontage  is  in  actual  commercial  use.  The  railways 
have  a  dock  frontage  of  twelve  miles.  Coal  yards  have  over  eleven 
thousand  feet. 

The  channel  of  the  Calumet  River  is  undoubtedly  capable  of  im- 
provement for  a  great  distance  from  its  mouth.  Major  Marshall  states  in 
his  report  of  February  29,  1896,  that  "at  present  nearly  all  the  commerce 
by  water  finds  its  terminus  or  origin  within  two  miles  of  the  mouth  of 
the  harbor."  One-half  mile  of  this  distance  covers  the  most  important 
commercial  enterprises,  and  the  inrolling  waves  seriously  embarrass 
vessels  alongside  the  docks.  The  dock  frontage  in  actual  use  amounts 
to  less  than  two  miles.  This  is  occupied  mainly  by  grain  elevators, 
coal  yards,  and  steel  mills. 

The  Chicago  and  Northwestern,  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St. 
Paul,  the  Wisconsin  Central,  the  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Qnincy,  the 
Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe,  the  Chicago  and  Northern  Pacific,  the 
Chicago,  Rock  Island  and  Pacific,  the  Chicago  and  Alton,  the  Pitts- 
burg, Fort  Wayne  and  Chicago,  the  Chicago  Great  Western  and  the 
Illinois  Central  all  have  terminals  on  the  Chicago  River  or  its  branches. 
They  have  an  aggregate  mileage  of  over  40,000  miles.  They  have  a 
dock  frontage  of  about  twelve  miles. 

TERMINALS  CAN  NOT  BE  TRANSFERRED. 

Representatives  of  these  railways  declare  that  it  would  be  practi- 
cally impossible  to  transfer  these  terminals  to  the  Calumet  River.      The 


6  ON   BEHALF   OF   THE   CHICAGO  RIVER. 

connection  between  the  docks  on  the  Calumet  and  the  railway  terminals 
on  the  Chicago  River  would  have  to  be  made  by  the  belt  railway,  at  an  aver- 
age cost  of  $3  per  car,  which,  if  paid  on  the  aggregate  traffic,  now  brought 
to  Chicago  by  these  railways  for  shipment  by  lake,  would  in  each  year 
far  exceed  the  sum  needed  to  improve  Chicago  River  to  meet  the  larg- 
est demands  of  lake  navigation.  They  further  declare  that  this  addi- 
tional cost  of  transportation  could  not  be  borne,  and  that  the  result  of 
imposing  it  would,  in  many  cases  be  to  drive  traffic  not  only  from  the 
Chicago  River  to  the  Calumet  but  away  from  Chicago  altogether. 

The  railroads  having  terminals  on  the  Calumet  are  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral, the  Rock  Island  and  the  belt  lines.  They  have  a  dock  frontage  of 
less  than  half  a  mile. 

GRAIN    ELEVATORS. 

Grain  elevators  on  the  Chicago  River  have  a  capacity  of  40,000,000 
bushels.  The  elevators  on  the  Calumet  have  a  capacity  of  about 
8,000,000  bushels.  To  make  the  elevator  capacity  of  the  Calumet 
equal  that  of  the  Chicago  River  would  require  an  investment  in  land 
and  buildings  of  at  least  $6,000,000. 

It  is  stated  by  William  H.  Harper  that  the  extra  cost  of  shipping 
grain  to  these  new  elevators  would  be  about  one  cent  per  bushel.  On 
seventy  millions  of  bushels,  the  amount  shipped  last  year  by  lake  from 
Chicago,  this  would  amount  in  a  single  year  to  a  sum  sufficient  to  pay 
for  dredging  Chicago  River  and  its  branches  to  sixteen  feet.  This 
extra  annual  cost  of  transportation  would  inevitably  be  shifted  from 
carrier  to  producer,  and  would  ultimately  be  borne  by  the  farmers  of 
the  northwest. 

Goods  shipped  to  Chicago  by  lake  for  local  consumption,  or  to  be 
sorted  and  distributed  by  rail  or  lake  throughout  the  south,  west  and 
northwest,  cannot  be  economically  transshipped  on  the  docks  of  the  Cal- 
umet. Package  freight,  anthracite  coal  and  the  materials  of  manufac- 
ture are  examples.  It  is  said  that  10,000,000  packages  of  freight,  in- 
cluding dry  goods  and  hardware,  were  received  last  year. 

A    FAIR    EXAMPLE. 

It  is  said  that  "two-thirds  of  the  grain  and  grass  cutting  machinery 
used  in  the  civilized  world  is  made  in  Chicago."  The  Deering  Har- 
vester Company  makes  one-third  of  the  binding  twine  used  in  the  United 
States.  The  fiber  from  which  the  twine  is  made  comes  to  Chicago  by 
lake.  Owing  to  insufficient  depth  in  the  north  branch  this  fiber  is  trans- 
shipped at  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  reaches  the  Deering  Works  by 
rail  at  a  cost  of  transportation  equal  to  over  20  per  cent,  of  the  total 
freight  on  the  fiber  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  the  Deering  works.  This 
extra  cost  would  be  at  least  33^  per  cent  of  the  whole  if  the  fiber  had  to 
reach  the  Deering  works  by  way  of  the  Calumet  River. 

BUSINESS    OF    TWO    HARBORS. 

The  phenomenal  increase  in  commerce  at  the  Calumet  referred  to  by 
Major  Marshall  in  his  recent  report  consists  largely  in  an  increase  of  receipts 


ON   BEHALF   OP   THE   CHICAGO   RIVER.  7 

of  salt,  iron  ore  and  grain,  and  an  increase  in  shipments  of  grain  and  steel 
rails.  For  1895  the  shipments  of  wheats,  corn,  oats,  rye,  flaxseed  and 
barley  were  about  16,000,000  bushels  from  the  Calumet,  and  nearly 
70,000,000  bushels  from  the  Chicago  River.  We  submit  that  the  fore- 
going facts,  and  others  easily  obtainable,  show  that  the  interests  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States  require  that  the  Chicago  River  and  its  bran- 
ches be  improved  and  maintained  as  a  harbor  navigable  for  the  largest 
lake  vessels. 

Whatever  these  difficulties  may  be  they  can  be  and  ought  to  be 
overcome.  The  interests  involved  are  national  in  character  and  import- 
ance. There  is  not  a  harbor  in  the  United  States  where  the  benefits  of 
adequate  appropriations  will  so  quickly  return  to  the  people  of  the  whole 
country. 

In  conclusion,  we  say  once  more  that  we  cordially  favor  the  improve- 
ment of  the  Calumet  River  and  harbor.  Nor  do  we  enter  into  any  con- 
trovei-sy  with  Major  Marshall  as  to  the  engineering  questions  involved. 
We  admit  that  the  people  of  Chicago  have  not  heretofore  been  fully 
awake  to  the  great  importance  of  maintaining  the  inner  harbor.  The 
recent  report  of  Major  Marshall  may  be  of  the  greatest  possible  benefit 
to  this  city  and  the  country  at  large  if  by  directing  public  attention  to 
the  subject  it  has  the  effect  of  presenting  to  the  commerce  of  the  United 
States  a  harbor  which  Major  Marshall  has  declared  to  be  the  second  in 
importance  in  the  whole  country. 


ON   BEHALF  OF   THE   CHICAGO   RIVER. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  SPEECHES  AND  LETTERS. 


WOULD   DRIVE   AWAY   TRAFFIC. 


L.  O.  Goodard,  Assistant  First  Vice-President  Chicago,  Bur- 
lington and  Quincy  Railroad  Company: — The  Chicago,  Burlington 
and  Quincy  Railroad  Company  is  deeply  interested  in  the  attempt  to 
deepen  and  improve  the  Chicago  River.  When  it  entered  the  city  of 
Chicago,  over  forty  years  ago,  its  freight  terminus  was  built  upon  the 
banks  of  the  river,  and  from  time  to  time  has  constructed  many  more  tracks 
to  and  upon  docks  purchased  by  it,  so  that  at  this  time  it  has  more  than  five 
miles  of  track  upon  the  river  bank  and  slips  adjacent  thereto.  It  has  built 
four  elevators,  with  a  capacity  of  6,000, 000  bushels,  and  constructed 
slips  and  docks  aggregating  9,000  feet  of  water  frontage.  This  vast 
expenditure  of  money  was  certainly  made  because  the  Chicago  River 
was  navigable  to  all  boats  upon  the  lakes,  and  we  had  every  reason  to 
believe  that  the  river  would  be  kept  in  condition  to  at  all  times  take 
care  of  the  traffic  placed  upon  it.  This  company  receives  large  quanti- 
ties of  ties,  lumber,  rails  and  other  materials  upon  its  docks  which  are 
distributed  over  twenty  states  in  the  Great  West.  Most  of  the  grain 
from  seven  thousand  miles  of  road  is  unloaded  into  its  elevators  to  be 
carried  by  boat  to  eastern  lake  ports.  It  is  impossible  to  reach  any 
other  port  of  departure  on  Lake  Michigan  without  paying  a  large 
switching  charge,  which  would  tend  to  drive  the  grain  to  other  cities. 
This  company  deposits  upon  its  docks  large  consignments  of  flour  and 
merchandise  produced  in  the  west,  all  of  which  goes  east  by  vessel. 

Several  industries  are  located  upon  these  docks  which  receive  raw 
material  by  the  boatload,  to  be  converted  into  a  manufactured  product, 
and  then  sent  into  twenty  western  states. 

The  business  going  to  and  from  lake  ports  consigned  over  the  rail- 
roads centering  in  Chicago  is  steadily  increasing,  and  demands  the  use 
of  vessels  of  the  largest  capacity.  This  river  must  be  improved  or  this 
immense  tonnage  will  diminish  and  seek  other  outlets. 


IMPROVEMENTS  IMPERATIVELY  DEMANDED. 


Marvin  Hugiiitt,  President  Chicago  &  North- Western  Rail- 
way Co. : — I  take  pleasure  in  responding  to  your  request  for  my  views  as 
to  the  desirability  of  providing  for  the  immediate  improvement  of  the 
Chicago  River. 

The  Chicago  and  North-Western  Railway  Company,  the  pioneer 
railroad  of  Chicago,  practically  set  forth  the  ideas  of  its  projectors  by 


ON   BEHALF   OF   THE   CHICAGO   RIVER.  9 

establishing  all  its  most  important  terminals  on  the  river  and  through 
all  its  future  years  and  succeeding  administrations  has  maintained  that 
relation  and  improved  it  by  every  judicious  means  at  its  command. 

The  demand  now  made  by  all  the  commercial  interests  of  Chicago 
for  the  immediate  deepening  of  the  channel  of  the  river  to  sixteen  feet 
is  most  timely  and  a  defeat  of  the  project  or  a  serious  check  to  it  at  this 
time  would  be  a  most  serious  blow  to  the  commercial  supremacy  of  the 
city.  Even  a  year's  delay  would  cause  the  establishment  of  freight 
routes  through  other  ports  that  would  permanently  divert  traffic  which 
might  be  retained  by  the  prompt  commencement  and  vigorous  prosecu- 
tion of  the  work  projected. 

Doubtless  your  committee  are  wise  in  moving  now  for  a  sixteen  foot 
channel  only,  but  the  improvements  should  not  stop  there.  A  twenty 
foot  channel  is  imperatively  demanded,  and  the  improvements  should 
go  on  uninterruptedly  until  that  depth  is  attained  in  the  main  river  and 
in  both  branches  at  least  to  a  sufficient  distance  to  serve  existing  indus- 
trial establishments. 

This  is  not  a  local  measure  only.  To  shut  out  the  large  vessels 
already  in  the  lake  or  upon  the  stocks  would  not  only  impose  an  enor- 
mous tax  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Chicago,  but  would  so  burden  the 
commerce  of  the  city  with  all  the  territory  tributary  thereto  as  to  drive 
much  of  it  elsewhere. 

The  scheme  for  the  imjarovement  of  the  harbor  at  South  Chicago  is; 
meritorious,  but  that  harbor  could  never  serve  the  greater  city  or  care, 
for  a  tithe  of  its  legitimate  commerce. 


VEltTEBRJS  OF  CHICAGO'S  COMMERCE. 


A.  J.  Earling,  Second  Vice-President  and  General  Manager 
Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway: — The  proposition  looking 
to  the  removal  and  abandonment  of  the  great  commercial  interests 
which  the  Chicago  River  serves,  should  receive  prompt  and  emphatic 
remonstrance,  not  only  from  the  interests  directly  effected,  but  from 
those  whose  interests,  although  somewhat  remote,  have  the  general 
interest  and  prosperity  of  Chicago  under  careful  consideration. 

The  Chicago  River  is  the  vertebrae  of  the  commerce  of  Chicago. 
The  development  of  many  important  commercial  interests  has  been 
largely  along  its  banks,  and  a  failure  to  perfect  its  channel  and  develop 
its  capabilities  to  the  utmost,  would  work  an  injury  to  the  commerce  of 
Chicago  which  would  be  incalculable.  Vast  amounts  of  money  have 
been  expended  in  the  purchase  of  real  estate  along  the  navigable  portions 
of  the  river  and  in  the  erection  of  suitable  and  substantial  manufac- 
turing plants  thereon.  Many  other  plants  have  been  constructed  ok 
locations  which  do  not  have  a  direct  frontage  but  which  are  valuable 
because  of  their  contiguity  to  the  river,  and  great  railway  lines  have 
expended  thousands  of  dollars  in  the  construction  of  facilities  for  the 
accommodation  of  their  patrons  along  the  water  front.  The  Chicago, 
Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  Railway  Company,  owning  and  operating  more 


10  ON   BEHALF   OF   THE   CHICAGO  RIVER. 

than  six  thousand  miles  of  railway,  and  reaching  not  less  than  seven 
states  over  its  own  rails,  and,  through  its  connections,  every  state  and 
territory  west  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  rivers  to  the  Pacific  Coast, 
has  its  principal  terminals  along  and  on  the  north  branch  of  the  Chicago 
River,  where  it  serves  nearly  one  hundred  industries  which  are  depen- 
dent upon  water  transportation.  Among  the  industries  are  grain  eleva- 
tors, which,  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  handled  during  the  year  1895  nearly 
seven  million  bushels  of  grain,  together  with  lumber,  coal  and  stone 
yards,  those  shipments  are  unloaded  directly  from  the  boats.  The 
business  done  by  these  firms,  through  the  medium  of  water  transporta- 
tion, aggregates  more  than  1,680,000  tons. 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  what  the  result  would  be  should  these 
industries  be  forced  to  close  or  remove  elsewhere  on  account  of  failure 
to  improve  or  maintain  the  channel  on  the  lines  heretofore  adopted.  It 
is  sufficient  to  say,  as  it  is  plain  to  see,  that  such  a  policy  would  be 
suicidal  as  far  as  Chicago's  commercial  interests  are  concerned,  and  that 
it  would  be  a  gross  breach  of  faith  in  the  case  of  those  whose  investments 
have  been  based  on  the  quasi  promise  of  the  Government,  to  maintain 
navigable  waterways  here,  as  well  as  elsewhere. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  no  effort  will  be  spared  to  induce  Congress 
to  furnish  the  means  for  advancing  the  commercial  prosperity  of  Chicago, 
on  the  locations  which  have  been  selected  on  account  of  their  favorable 
access  to  the  lake,  and  on  which  millions  of  dollars  have  been  spent  in 
perfecting. 


SHOULD  BE  IMPROVED  KEGARDLESS  OF  COST. 


C.  H.  Chappell,  Vice-President  and  General  Manager  Chi- 
cago &  Alton  :  —  Every  carload  of  freight  diverted  from  the  Chicago 
River  to  the  Calumet  involves  an  expense  of  $3.00  per  car,  which  upon 
the  tonnage  received  from  and  delivered  to  the  lake  would  amount  to 
millions  of  dollars  annually. 

The  Chicago  &  Alton  Railroad  delivers  to  and  receives  from  the 
lake,  through  the  Chicago  River,  many  thousands  of  carloads  per  an- 
num. Very  much  of  this  business  would  be  lost  entirely  to  Chicago 
were  we  compelled  to  divert  this  business  to  South  Chicago.  The  addi- 
tional charge  of  $3.00  per  car  would  make  it  impossible  for  us  to  handle 
the  business. 

It  is  absolutely  impossible  to  improve  the  Calumet  River  and  meet 
the  service  that  is  now  given  by  the  Chicago  River.  The  business 
would  be  diverted  wholly  away  from  Chicago  and  South  Chicago, 
rather  than  take  the  South  Chicago  route. 

In  my  judgment,  the  Chicago  River  should  be  improved  regardless 
of  cost.  The  business  interests  of  Chicago  and  of  the  railroads  tribu- 
tary thereto  absolutely  demand  this  improvement,  no  matter  what  may 
be  done  with  the  Calumet. 


ON   BEHALF  OF   THE   CHICAGO   RIVER.  11 

DEMANDED  BY  ALL  INTERESTS  IN  CHICAGO. 


W.  G.  Purdy,  Vice-President  Chicago,  Rock  Island  &  Pa- 
cific.— [Letter.] — I  desire  on  behalf  of  this  company  to  express  our 
approval  of  the  efforts  of  your  committee  to  maintain  and  improve  the 
usefulness  and  importance  of  the  Chicago  River  as  a  necessary  agency 
in  the  commerce  of  this  city  and  the  lakes. 

Our  company  is  the  owner  of  two  grain  elevators  on  the  riverfront, 
with  a  capacity  of  two  and  one-half  million  bushels.  It  also  owns 
nearly  three-quarters  of  a  mile  of  dock  fronton  the  river,  all  of  which  is  in 
constant  use  during  the  season  of  navigation.  The  closing  of  the  river, 
or  the  abandonment  of  its  use  in  any  way,  would  render  these  great 
properties  useless  and  would  be  an  injury  not  only  to  this  company,  but 
to  the  commercial  interests  of  the  city.  The  maintenance  of  the  river 
in  at  least  its  present  state  of  usefulness  is  demanded  by  all  the  interests 
of  Chicago. 


KEY  OF  CHEAP  TRANSPORTATION. 


Harvey  D.  Goulder,  General  Counsel  of  the  Lake  Carriers' 
Association: — It  is  a  most  encouraging  sign  of  the  times  that  Chicago 
is  alive  to  the  importance  of  her  lake  traffic  and  is  ready  to  put  merits 
and  necessities  in  tangible  shape  before  congress  and  the  public. 

The  commerce  of  our  internal  waterways  seems  to  me  to  be  still  in 
its  infancy.  The  question  of  cheap  internal  transportation  is  one  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  the  prosperity  and  well-being  of  our  country.  The 
key  to  the  proper  and  adequate  solution  of  this  question,  both  by  reason 
of  its  direct  importance  and  as  a  grand  object  lesson  on  the  subject,  is 
here  in  the  lake  system. 

We  performed  on  the  lakes  in  1895  a  ton  mileage  service  equal 
to  more  than  one-third  of  the  ton  mileage  service  of  the  rail- 
roads of  the  United  States.  I  have  not  exact  statistics  of  the  ton 
mile  price  of  all  the  lake  traffic,  but  that  carried  by  Detroit  was  carried 
on  an  average  of  750  miles  at  a  price  of  ftso  of  one  mill  per  mile. 

The  cheapest  average  price  of  any  railroad  in  the  United  States  in 
1894  was  5^  mills.  The  grand  average  was  over  8  mills,  or  ten  times 
the  price  of  water  transportation. 

Two-thirds  of  the  cargoes  moved  by  the  lake  could  not  pay  the 
charge  for  land  carriage  at  any  price  Avhich  would  pay  the  carrier  the 
actual  cost  of  moving  it. 

The  policy  of  the  government  in  aiding  waterways  has  been  criti- 
cised but  only  by  short-sighted  people.  The  money  is  truly  invested  for 
the  best  good  of  all  the  people  in  the  broadest  ami  most  catholic  sense. 
Carrying  at  t805o  of  one  mill  per  mile,  deeper  and  wider  and  safer  chan- 
nels will  reduce  this  price  materially.  Chicago,  if  her  people  Avill  study 
and  understand  this  question  with  its  great  possibilities,  will  labor  inces- 
santly to  keep  in  touch  with  improved  methods,  to  deepen  her  harbor, 
increase  in  every  direction  her  facilities  for  the  accommodation  of  water 
borne  commerce.  And  this  she  may  do  in  the  full  assurance  that  such 
benefits  will  accrue  to  not  Chicago  alone,  but  to  the  territory  back  and 


12  ON   BEHALF   OF   THE   CHICAGO   RIVER. 

beyond,  to  the  railroads  bringing  grain  and  other  products  to  the  water- 
side and  hauling  away  those  received  by  water,  and  to  all  who  thrive  on 
industry  to  whatever  applied. 

The  increase  in  lake  transportation  of  nearly  or  cpiite  10  jier  cent  is 
assured  for  this  year.  It  is  freely  predicted  that  it  will  double  or  even 
treble  in  twenty  years. 

Chicago  should  have  her  share  and  it  should  be  a  great  one  in  the 
certain  increase  of  lake  commerce,  with  all  that  attends  on  it  in  the  way 
of  business,  with  so  commanding  a  position,  with  a  port  that  does  not 
need  creating  but  improvement  up  to  the  standards  of  the  present  and 
the  near  future.  I  do  not  doubt  that  her  people  will  show  their  charac- 
teristic push  and  energy  and  business  sagacity,  now  that  their  attention 
and  interests  are  awakened  and  that  Chicago  will  succeed  as  usual. 


DISGRACE  TO  01ODEKN  CIVILIZATION. 


James  Davidson,  Vessel-Owner,  Bay  City,  Mich: — The  present 
harbor  facilities  in  the  Chicago  River  are  entirely  inadequate.  For  the 
past  ten  years  Chicago  River  has  not  been  in  a  fit  condition  to  accom- 
modate our  modern  ships.  Prior  to  that  time,  owing  to  the  small  size 
of  our  vessels,  they  were  easily  handled  in  Chicago  River.  In  order  to 
have  cheaper  transportation  in  getting  the  products  of  the  great  North- 
west to  the  seaboard,  much  larger  and  finer  ships  have  been  constructed; 
harbor  and  lock  facilities  all  over  the  Great  Lakes,  have  been  greatly 
extended. 

Chicago  River  has  not  kept  pace  with  these  improvements,  and  at 
the  present  time  there  are  many  ships  in  commission  and  in  course  of 
construction  that  cannot  enter  Chicago  River.  There  are  many  other 
large  ships  that  cannot  be  operated  in  this  river  except  at  a  great  ex- 
pense. The  result  will  be  that  all  transportation  out  of  Chicago  will  be 
in  the  old  style  smaller  ships  and  at  a  much  greater  cost  than  could  be 
had  with  proper  harbor  facilities,  and  in  larger  and  more  modern  ton- 
nage. 

The  disastrous  results  of  this  condition  will  be  far  more  reaching 
than  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  Its  effects  will  be  felt  throughout  the  whole 
Northwest,  and  will  in  time  necessitate  the  turning  of  traffic  to  and  from 
the  Northwest  to  other  points  with  better  harbor  facilities  that  can  ac- 
commodate our  modern  lake  vessels.  This  time  is  near  at  hand,  and 
unless  something  is  done  to  better  the  condition  of  the  Chicago  River, 
and  done  very  quickly,  the  effects  of  a  change  will  be  Aery  expensive,  not 
only  to  the  city  of  Chicago,  but  to  all  transportation  interests  and  the 
country  at  large.  The  expansion  of  lake  transportation  is  not  specula- 
tive, but  a  reality,  and  the  improvement  of  harbors,  dock  facilities,  and 
channels  at  all  other  points  have  exceeded  the  wildest  expectations. 

The  condition  of  Chicago  River  and  harbor  is  a  disgrace  to  modern 
civilization,  and  an  immediate  appropriation  ought  to  be  made  for  such 
improvements  as  are  necessary  to  accommodate  our  modern  ships,  thereby 
insuring  the  great  Northwest  cheaper  transportation  to  the  seaboard  for 
years  to  come.  With  this  end  in  view  your  citizens  ought  to  become 
thoroughly  aroused. 


ON   BEHALF   OF   THE   CHICAGO   RIVER.  13 

SOT  A  BELIEVER  IN  BIG  SHIPS. 


Alexander  McDougall,  Inventor  of  the  Whalebacks: — I  am 
very  glad  that  you  have  this  matter  up  to  help  improve  Chicago  River, 
which  has  been,  and  always  should  be,  one  of  the  greatest  thoroughfares 
in  America.  There  is  a  class  of  business  which  may  be  done  on  the  out- 
skirts of  the  city,  but  the  greatest  necessity  to  the  city  trade,  is  a 
means  of  doing  business  within  the  heart  of  the  city,  and  where  mer- 
chandise has  the  least  handling  and  cartage.  Trade  is  becoming  so 
close  that  the  least  transfer  of  merchandise  is  what  will  take  the 
business. 

I  think,  however,  that  the  very  large  ship  which  to-day  has  the 
prestige  in  sentiment,  will  not  be  the  economic  vessel  of  the  future  for 
lake  trade.  Personally,  I  feel  confident  that  a  vessel  of  the  size  of  the 
new  Canadian  canals  and  built  on  modern  ideas  will  be  the  profitable 
lake  vessel  of  the  future;  but  the  great  fleet  of  large  ships  already  built 
and  now  under  construction  must  be  taken  care  of,  and  I  hope  your 
efforts  will  result  in  making  a  better  channel  in  that  great  thoroughfare, 
Chicago  River. 

NO  REASONABLE  OBJECTION. 


W.  Livingstone,  Ex-Pbesident  Lake  Carriebs'  Association, 
Detboit: — There  should  be  no  reasonable  objections  in  the  minds  of  our 
legislators  to  appropriate  whatever  sum  or  sums  that  may  be  necessary 
to  keep  the  Chicago  River  in  the  best  navigable  condition. 


AVHOLE  COUNTRY  BENEFITED. 


James  B.  Gallowav,  comfabing  the  Chicago  and  Calumet 
Rivebs,  said: — The  Calumet  River  should  be  improved,  but  not 
only  the  people  of  Chicago,  but  the  people  of  the  whole  country  should 
be  benefited  by  the  expenditures  of  six  millions  of  dollars  in  order  to 
give  us  a  depth  of  twenty  feet  from  the  mouth  of  Chicago  River  to 
Western  Avenue  and  the  stock  yards,  on  both  branches.  I  am  told  on 
groceries  alone  the  saving  would  amount  to  about  20  per  cent  on  the 
aggregate  by  better  waterways.  Wholesale  dry  goods  come  in  by 
lake,  and  all  other  merchandise  which  does  not  need  rapid  transit. 
I  am  in  favor  of  anything  looking  toward  the  improvement  of  the 
Chicago  River  (applause). 


AS  A  BUSINESS  PROPOSITION. 


J.  P.  Tracy,  of  the  Peering  Harvesteb  Co.: — I  presume  that 
we  are  to  regard  the  improvement  of  the  river  absolutely  as  a  busi- 
ness proposition,  and  speak  of  the  river  simply  as  an  avenue  of  com- 
merce, and   as   such   the  Chicago  River  is  second  to  none  in  the  world. 


14  ON   BEHALF   OF   THE   CHICAGO   RIVER. 

We  are  safe  to  assume  that  we  pay,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  nearly  5 
per   cent  of   the   gross  revenues  of  the  United  States  government,  and 
aside  from  the  commercial  interests,  as  a  tax-paying  community  alone, 
we  are  entitled  to  a   very  respectful   hearing  before  the  river  and  harbor 
committees  of  Congress.      For  this  community  of  two  millions  of  peo- 
ple the  Chicago  River  is  the  chief  and   cheapest  avenue  of  commerce. 
When   I   tell  you  what  bearing  the  Chicago  River  has  on  our  factories 
I  presume  it  will  be  a  revelation  to  you.     According  to  the  census  of 
1890  there  were  nearly  ten  thousand  factories  in  the  city  of   Chicago. 
Why  are  they  here?     There  is  no  fuel  for  them  here.      There  are  no  raw 
materials  for  them  here.     Why  are  they  here?     Simply  because  of  the 
excellent  transportation  facilities  this  city   affords,  and  you  know  that 
outside  cities  have  been  endeavoring  to   entice  them  away  by  free  sites 
and  free  taxes,  but  in  spite  of  all  these  transactions  in  the  decade  from 
1880   to    1890  the   manufacturing  interests   in   the   city  of   Chicago  in- 
creased 320    per  cent.,   while    the   population    increased    but    118    per 
cent.      And    I    think    I    am    safe   in    estimating   that    in    the    last    six 
years  the  same  ratio  kept  up,  and  if  so  we  now  have  15,000  factories,  and 
my  friend,  Mr.  Rising,  tells  me  his  solicitors,  the  solicitor  of  patrons  of 
the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway,  have  on  their  lists  5,000 
factories  for  his  line  of  railway  alone.     And  do  you  know  that  these 
factories,  if  this  same  ratio  kept  up,  have  an  investment  in  their  plants 
of  $600,000,000.      If  they   have   increased  in  the  last  six  years  as  they 
have  before,  they  would  reach  the  annual  output  of  a  billion  of  dollars, 
and  would  employ  about  400,000  men.     Why  are  those  factories  here? 
Because  of  the  excellent  transportation  facilities  of  this  city.     What 
put  these  transportation  facilities  here?     It  has  been  the  fact  that  every 
line  of  transportation  in  this  city  has  one  of  its  principal  terminals  here, 
and  to  a  great  extent  the  river  brought  them  here,  and  Chicago  has  be- 
come the  greatest  center  in  the  world  for  the  exchange  of  freights  be- 
tween carriers.      We  have  leaving  this  city  and  arriving  here  nearly  five 
hundred   freight  trains   daily   and   ten   thousand  ships  a  year,  and  that 
means  a  facility  for  practically  reaching  almost  every  principal  town  of 
the  American  continent.     That  is  the  reason  that  the  factories  are  here. 
Where  are  the  factories?     Around  the  terminals  of  these  railroads  and 
on  the  river.      What  does  it  mean  to  remove  our  river  commerce  twelve 
miles    distant?     It  means    that    that    which  has  chiefly  brought  these 
fifteen  thousand  manufacturing  institutions  are  sacrificed,  and  they  are 
depreciated  in  value,  if  not  utterly  ruined. 


POSITION  OF  THE  ROCK  ISLAND. 


G.  W.  Purdt  of  the  Rock  Island  Road : — Gentlemen,  I  did  not 
come  here  this  afternoon  to  make  any  address.  I  stated  to  you  in  my 
letter  the  position  of  the  company,  I  would  like  to  explain  to  you  one 
thing,  to  correct  the  impression  that  because  the  Rock  Island  had  tracks 
in  South  Chicago  that  it  had  no  interests  in  the  development  of  the  Chi- 
cago River.     We  have  three-fourths  of  a  mile  of  dock  frontage  and  two 


ON   BEHALF   OF   THE   CHICAGO   RIVER.  15 

elevators  with  a  capacity  of  two  and  a  half  million  bushels  on  the  Chi- 
cago River.  We  feel  it  our  interest  just  as  much  as  though  we  had  no 
terminals  in  South  Chicago  and  are  anxious  to  have  this  improvement. 


TO  OTHER  LAKE  PORTS. 


Charles  L.  Rising,  of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Pato, 
Railway: — The  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  has  terminals  in  Chi- 
cago and  we  have  invested  millions  of  money  here.  We  are  entirely 
dependent  on  our  water  transportation  to  relieve  us  of  the  grain  we  are 
bringing  into  the  city,  and  were  they  moved  from  Chicago  it  would 
result  iu  our  taking  that  grain  to  other  lake  points.  We  are  vitally 
interested  in  the  matter  of  the  improvement  of  the  Chicago  River  from 
every  standpoint,  not  only  to  preserve  our  property  but  to  protect  those 
who  have  invested.  I  hope  every  effort  will  be  made  to  make  the  Chi- 
cago River  navigable  for  the  largest  vessels. 


WHY  DO  RAILROADS  END  IN  CHICAGO? 


L.  O.  Goddard,  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  c%Quincy — [Address]; 
Nearly  fifty  years  ago  the  first  railroad  was  built  in  Chicago  and 
extended  its  line  from  the  city  to  the  Chicago  River  and  every  railroad 
company  building  into  the  city  of  Chicago  not  only  built  its  passenger 
and  freight  facilities  into  the  city  but  to  the  Chicago  River.  These 
railroad  companies  purchased  or  had  under  their  control  upwards  of 
twelve  miles  of  river  frontage.  The  railroad  company  which  I  have 
the  honor  to  represent  has  about  two  miles  of  river  frontage,  and  these 
several  railroads  came  to  the  Chicago  River  for  what  purpose?  They 
came  here  at  that  time  for  the  purpose  of  reaching  a  navigable  stream. 
The  grain  which  is  purchased  from  ten  to  fifteen  states  in  the  west  is  all 
brought  to  Chicago  and  it  had  to  be  unloaded  in  the  warehouses  and. 
elevators  before  it  could  be  loaded  into  the  boats,  provided  for  the' 
distribution  of  this  grain.  We  purchased  several  million  dollars  worth, 
of  dock  property  to  use,  of  course,  for  our  grain  facilities.  In  addition 
to  that  these  docks  were  purchased  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  from  the 
lake  ports  such  material  as  these  railroad  companies  needed  for  the  con- 
struction of  their  lines  and  repairs.  There  is  something  like  forty 
thousand  miles  of  road,  which  in  a  great  measure  receives  all  of  its; 
material  for  construction  and  repairs  by  vessels  and  it  is  unloaded  ore 
these  docks  on  the  Chicago  River.  When  we  purchased  these  dock 
facilities  we  had  every  reason  to  believe  it  would  be  navigable  for  all 
vessels  which  might  be  built  to  float  on  the  lake,  and  as  railroad  com- 
panies we  cannot  stand  idly  by  and  see  the  Chicago  River  turned  into  a, 
mere  canal.  We  must  have  this  river  now  dredged  to  a  sufficient  depth 
as  to  allow  us  to  use  it  at  all  times  to  unload  our  grain  into  vessels  of  the 
very  deepest  and  largest  capacity.  The  interests  the  railroad  companies-, 
subserve  are  interests  scattered  over  twenty  different  states.      Seventy  per 


16  ON   BEHALF   OF   THE   CHICAGO  RIVER. 

cent  of  all  the  agricultural  products  which  come  to  the  east,  come  to 
Chicago,  and  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  we  have  facilities  to  take 
care  of  that  business.  Otherwise  it  would  seek  other  ports.  And  we 
have  difficulty  now  in  keeping  this  from  going  to  St.  Louis  and  down 
the  river  to  New  Orleans,  and  I  tell  you  if  we  cannot  have  a  Chicago 
River  in  a  sufficient  depth  and  capacity  we  will  lose  all  of  this  businesss. 
(applause.) 

LAKE  STEAMER  LINES. 


Hugh  MacMillan,  of  the  New  York  Central  &  Hudson  River 
Steamer  Line: — As  a  representative  of  the  Lake  Line  Agents'  Associa- 
tion I  will  say  a  word  in  reference  to  the  Chicago  River.  The  merchants 
of  Chicago  have  invested  enormous  sums  of  money  along  and  adjacent 
to  the  Chicago  River,  such  investments  having  been  made  under  the 
belief  that  this  stream  should  always  remain  navigable  and  that  it  should 
be  improved  and  enlarged  as  business  grew.  These  merchants  have  a 
Tight  to  expect  and  demand  that  vessels  shall  have  facilities  for  econom- 
ically navigating  the  river,  and  for  landing  and  recehdng  cargoes  at 
-convenient  places  on  the  stream;  also  that  goods  shall  be  delivered  and 
received  as  near  their  doors  as  possible.  The  Chicago  River  as  a  navig- 
able stream  and  under  the  control  of  the  United  States  Government  is 
•entitled  to  an  appropriation  to  be  used  in  deepening  it  and  otherwise  im- 
proving it. 

ITS  TRAFFIC  INTER-STATE. 


W.  H.  Harper: — While  it  is  true  that  much  of  the  commerce  of 
Chicago  is  connected  with  and  dependent  upon  the  Chicago  River,  and 
from  this  commerce  Chicago  reaps  material  benefits,  yet  the  fact  is  that 
the  city  of  Chicago  in  using  the  Chicago  River  is  serving  interests 
largely  diversified  and  greatly  scattered.  The  profits  accruing  to  Chi- 
cago are  indeed  small  when  compared  with  the  benefits  reaped  by  the 
country  at  large. 

There  is  to-day  invested  in  grain  elevator  property  on  the  Chicago 
River  in  the  city  of  Chicago  not"  less  than  §10,000,000.  This  invest- 
ment represents  a  storage  capacity  of  over  40,000,000  bushels.  The 
equipment  in  these  houses  for  the  speedy  and  economical  handling  of 
grain  is  better  and  larger  than  in  any  other  city  in  the  world. 

Cheap  bread  is  now,  as  it  always  has  been,  the  first  and  most  im- 
portant problem  in  the  domestic  economy  of  every  nation.  Whatever 
tends  to  cheapen  the  price  of  bread  is  a  benefit  to  the  public.  That  the 
price  of  bread  has  been  greatly  cheapened  in  recent  years  is  an  un- 
doubted fact. 

What  has  given  us  this  cheaper  bread?  I  answer,  that  the  facil- 
ities for  the  economical  handling  of  the  grain  of  the  West  and  North- 
west in  the  city  of  Chicago,  the  concentration  in  the  city  of  Chicago  of 
railroads  directly  tributary  to  the  vast  and  fertile  agricultural  fields  of 
the  great  West,  have  contributed  in   a  very  direct  manner  to  the  devel- 


ON  BEHALF   OP   THE   CHICAGO   RIVER.  17 

opment  of  commerce,  not  only  of  Chicago,  but  of  the  entire  country, 
and  have  had  a  direct  bearing  upon  the  export  trade  of  the  country,  for 
it  should  be  remembered  that  the  agricultural  products  constitute  about 
75  per  cent,  of  the  entire  exports  of  domestic  merchandise  from  the 
United  States. 

It  should  always  be  borne  in  mind,  and  of  course  it  will  readily 
occur  to  those  who  have  given  anything  like  a  studious  consideration  of 
the  subject,  that  the  development  of  the  States  and  Territories  of  the 
United  States  is  largely  due  to  the  unequalled  and  economical  facilities 
which  Chicago  has  provided  for  the  handling  of  the  products  of  the 
West. 

In  addition  to  these  facilities  which  have  been  provided  the  great 
West  for  the  handling  of  its  varied  products,  and  which  have  stimula- 
ted commerce  in  all  directions,  must  be  considered  the  constantly  re- 
duced rates  of  transportation  by  lake  and  by  rail  to  the  eastern  and 
southern  States.  This  reduction  in  freight  rates,  both  by  rail  and  by 
water,  has  been  brought  about  and  stimulated  by  the  vast  amount  of 
grain  which  is  annually  deposited  in  Chicago,  as  the  result  of  the  facil- 
ities which  I  have  mentioned,  and  which  have  materially  contributed 
to  the  common  commercial  welfare. 

In  addition  to  the  increase  in  the  volume  of  our  export  trade,  the 
people  of  the  eastern  States  have  thus  been  provided  with  food  on  a 
most  economical  basis,  and  thereby  a  large  amount  of  money  has  been 
saved  to  the  people. 

The  splendid  equipment  of  Chicago  for  handling  the  grain  of  the 
North  and  West  has  annually  brought  to  Chicago  vast  quantities  of 
grain  from  these  sections  and  made  necessary  the  building  of  larger 
boats.  Larger  boats  made  cheaper  freight  rates,  and  cheaper  freight 
rates  reduced  at  the  seaboard  the  price  of  farm  products.  This  gave 
to  the  East  cheaj^er  bread,  and  thus  the  investment  at  Chicago  in  her 
mammoth  elevators  has  been  a  benefit  to  the  consumers  of  the  East. 

It  is  believed  that  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  with  larger  boats 
grain  will  be  carried  from  Chicago  to  New  York  for  3  cents  per  bushel. 
If  this  rate  is  ever  reached  it  will  be  through  the  instrumentality  of 
of  larger  boats,  and  for  the  accommodation  of  such  boats  the  Chicago 
River  must  be  deepened.  The  amount  of  water  now  in  the  river  is  not 
sufficient  to  permit  the  larger  boats   now  in  use  to  load  with  full  cargo. 

That  all  these  radical  changes  in  transportation,  improved  methods 
and  the  multiplication  of  mechanical  appliances  have  not  benefited  the 
farmer,  at  first  occasions  surprise,  but  this  condition  arises  from  the  fact 
that  ours  is  a  surplus  wheat  producing  country,  and  that  we  can  not  in 
any  event  obtain  more  for  our  wheat  than  the  prices  at  which  other 
great  surplus  wheat  producing  countries  are  willing  to  sell  their  wheat. 
The  reduction  in  transportation  cost,  therefore,  among  other  things 
simply  enables  us  to  maintain  ourselves  in  the  markets  of  the  world,  in 
competition  with  other  surplus  wheat  producing  countries. 

It  is  interesting  to  examine  the  cost  of  water  freight  from  Chicago 
to  Buffalo,  and  to  note  the  cheapening  from  year  to  year.  In  1847  the 
average  rate  was  23  cents  per  bushel.  The  average  rate  from  1848  to 
1860  has  been  estimated  at  15  cents  per  bushel.      The  average  rate  from 


18  ON   BEHALF   OF   THE   CHICAGO  RIVER. 

1850  to   1860,    from  carefully   kept  statistics   was   9   cents  per  bushel, 
and  from  1881  to  1895  the  average  rate  was  8  7-10  cents. 

The  average  cost  per  bushel  for  the  transportation  of  wheat  from 
Chicago  to  New  York  from  1876  to  1894  has  been  greatly  lessened,  as 
appears  by  the  following  statement: 

By  Lake  and  Canal.  By  Rail. 

1876 0982  .1686 

1877 1109  .2050 

1878 0996  .1770 

1879 1187  .1774 

1880 1313  .1980 

1881 0867  .1440 

1882 0723  .1447 

1883 0901  .1020 

1884 0700  .1320 

1885 0654  .1320 

1886 0910  .1500 

1887 0950  .1575 

1888 0705  .1450 

1889 0692  .1500 

1890 0676  .1430 

1891 0695  .1500 

1892 0645  .1380 

1893 0766  .1463 

1894 0511  .1320 

The  evolution  of  the  grain  carrying  boats  has  a  direct  bearing  upon 
this  question  of  cheapened  transportation.  In  1847  the  average  capacity 
of  grain  carriers  upon  the  lakes  was  about  10,000  bushels.  From  1848 
to  1860  the  average  capacity  was  about  20,000  bushels.  From  1860  to 
1870  the  capacity  was  raised  to  an  avei'age  of  25,000  bushels.  From 
1870  to  1880  the  average  was  about  35,000  bushels.  From  1880  to  1890 
the  average  was  60,000  bushels,  and  from  1890  to  1895  the  average 
reached  80,000  bushels.  The  boats  that  are  now  being  constructed  and 
those  that  have  been  most  recently  constructed  will  average  over  125,000 
bushels  capacity,  while  at  Cleveland,  O.,  the  steamer  W.  D.  Rees  has 
just  been  launched,  and  this  boat  has  a  capacity  of  200,000  bushels. 
It  is  worthy  of  note  that  as  the  capacity  of  carrying  boats  has  been  in- 
creased the  rates  of  freight  have  in  inverse  ratio  decreased. 


CRISIS  NOW  TO  BE  3IET. 


George  J.  Brine: — No  citizen  of  Chicago  that  has  seen  the  city 
grow  and  has  been  connected  with  the  business  of  the  city  as  long  as  I 
have,  can  help  but  feel  and  appreciate  the  crisis  which  the  city  has 
reached  to-day. 

In  the  absence  of  government  aid  or  some  other  aid  adequate  to  the 
improvement  of  this  river,  the  alternative  is  presented — the  death  of 
Chicago  as  a  commercial  and  industrial  center;  and  I  think  there  is 
nothing   more    to   present    to    the   committee  on  rivers  and  harbors  in 


ON   BEHALF   OP   THE   CHICAGO   RIVER.  19 

Washington.  Do  this  not  only  for  the  local  interest,  but  also  to  em- 
phasize the  vast  importance  and  enormous  interests  of  the  entire  North- 
west as  well  as  the  East. 

Are  we  going  to  make  this  river — or  rather  this  city,  an  inland 
city.  The  moment  you  stop  the  commerce  of  the  river  you  then  arrest 
every  other  improvement,  and  you  will  find  it  surely  impossible  for 
the  city  to  maintain  its  present  status;  you  produce  decadence,  and 
chronic  paralysis  must  follow.  Industrial  development  would  be  simply 
a  dream,  and  Chicago  as  a  business  center  would  pass  and  be  a  memory. 
It  is  none  too  strong  to  put  it  in  that  way,  because  the  river  is  the  con- 
nection between  the  commerce  of  the  lake  and  the  great  lines  of  railroad. 


RIVER  AND  THE  LUMBER  TRADE. 


W.  B.  Judson: — There  are  eighty-one  lumber  yards  receiving  their 
supplies  over  the  70,000  feet  of  dockage  along  the  banks  of  the  Chicago 
River.  The  average  stocks  of  pine  and  hardwood  lumber  carried  in 
these  yards  is  500,000,000  feet,  and  its  value  in  money  amounts  to  seven 
and  one-half  million  dollars.  There  was  received  at  this  port  in  the 
year  1895  and  handled  over  these  docks  1,076,000,000  feet  of  lumber 
and  176,000,000  shingles.  According  to  the  figures  compiled  showing- 
receipts  and  shipments  of  lumber  by  the  Lumbermen's  Association  of 
this  city  600,000,000  feet  of  this  amount  was  consumed  in  the  city  of 
Chicago.  Employed  in  handling  this  lumber  on  the  docks  and  in  the 
yards  and  mills  connected  therewith  there  are  not  less  than  8,000  men, 
Avho  received  wages  not  less  than  $3,600,000  annually.  The  total 
amount  of  lumber  sold  from  Chicago  in  1895  was  in  round  numbers 
1,680,000,000  feet,  and  its  value  was  not  less  than  $25,000,000.  For 
more  than  twenty-five  years  Chicago  has  been  the  greatest  lumber  mar- 
ket in  the  world.  Its  supremacy  has  been  maintained  solely  because  the 
Chicago  River  was  navigable  and  lumber-laden  boats  may  come  from 
northern  lake  ports  and  be  unloaded  directly  upon  the  docks  over  which 
this  enormous  product  is  handled. 

Not  less  than  $10,000,000  are  invested  in  these  docks  alone,  to  say 
nothing  of  other  improvements,  such  as  mills,  sheds,  warehouses,  offices, 
and  other  buildings  that  form  a  part  of  the  great  lumber  yard  system  of 
this  city.  These  are  the  wholesale  yards  only,  and  no  account  is  taken 
of  the  retail  yards  or  small  mills  and  factories  scattered  about  the  city 
in  all  three  divisions. 

Close  the  Chicago  River  to  navigation,  remove  these  lumber  yards 
to  the  Calumet  region,  and  we  are  confronted  first  with  a  problem  of 
what  to  do  with  the  §10,000,000  worth  of  dockage,  together  with  the 
planing  mills  and  other  improvements.  And  second,  Avith  the  fact  that 
the  600,000,000  feet  of  lumber  coming  here  by  the  lake  for  consump- 
tion in  the  city  must  be  brought  from  a  new  location  by  rail  or  wagon. 
To  bring  that  amount  of  lumber  into  the  city  where  it  must  be  used 
means  an  extra  expense  by  the  most  conservative  estimate  of  not  less 
than  |900,000  annually.  In  other  words,  the  people  of  this  city  who 
buy  lumber  will  pay  that  amount  or  more  each  year  for  the  privilege  of 
removing  the  lumber  yards  from  the  banks  of  the  Chicago  River. 


20  ON   BEHALF   OF  THE   CHICAGO  KIVER. 

ANTHRACITE  COAL. 


W.  S.  Bogle: — In  1892  we  received  by  lake  1,475,237  tons  of  an- 
thracite coal;  in  1893,  1,424,853  tons;  in  1894,  1,277,191  tons;  and  in 
1895,  1,269,512  tons,  a  decrease  of  14  per  cent  in  three  years.  That 
1895  should  show  a  decrease  from  1894  is  the  most  remarkable  of  all, 
as  because  of  the  very  low  prices  prevailing  in  1895  the  production  and 
consumption  was  greater  than  in  any  one  year  of  the  history  of  the  an- 
thracite trade.  This  decrease  represents  the  loss  of  just  so  much  ship- 
ping business  from  the  Chicago  docks  and  is  caused  by  the  inadequate 
facilities  afforded  by  the  Chicago  River  and  increased  cost  of  handling 
therein  over  other  harbors.  While  Chicago  has  been  steadily  deci'eas- 
ing,  Milwaukee,  Green  Bay  and  other  ports  at  the  head  of  Lake  Superior 
have  shown  a  steady  increase  and  the  ports  of  Sheboygan  and  Manitowoc, 
up  to  that  time  unimportant  and  almost  unknown,  have  between  them 
reached  a  tonnage  approximating  500,000  tons. 

The  great  city  of  Chicago,  which  would  never  have  existed  in  this 
present  location  Imt  for  this  very  river,  has  allowed  it  to  be  encroached 
upon,  obstructed  and  abused  until  to-day  it  is  the  puniest  and  smallest 
thing  of  its  kind  anywhere  on  the  great  lakes  where  there  is  a  city  pre- 
tending to  do  a  ship]  ting  business.  Our  muncipal  authorities  through 
many  administrations  have  been  against  it.  Bridges  have  been  designed 
and  so-called  centerpiers  have  been  placed  so  as  to  leave  but  one  open 
draw  and  after  that,  what  was  left  of  the  other  draw  has  been  filled  in 
and  its  surface  given  over  to  the  use  of  corporations  and  individuals. 
One  or  two  of  our  administrations  have  openly  advocated  permanent 
bridges.  A  public  sentiment  has  been  built  up  against  it  and  too  gener- 
ally regarded  as  a  nuisance  and  something  to  be  got  rid  of  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment.  This  has  been  going  on  for  years  with  practically  no 
effort  on  the  part  of  the  interests  directly  affected  to  correct  or  affect  it 
and  I  do  not  know  if  in  the  face  of  all  this  that  we  should  be  surprised 
that  a  government  engineer  should  virtually  call  it  a  '  'measly  old  thing, 
not  worth  doctoring  and  scarcely  worth  repairing,"  as  in  the  course  of  a 
few  years  it  would  go  to  the  "Q.  bone-yard"  anyway.  Public  sentiment  is 
an  important  factor  in  the  affairs  of  this  nation,  and  it  seems  to  me  that 
it  should  not  be  difficult  for  us  to  convince  the  public  of  Chicago  that  their 
sentiment  should  favor  it  as  their  interests  lie  in  preserving  the  Chicago 
River.  If  our  present  agitation  is  unsuccessful  and  if  Major  Marshall's 
report  and  recommendations  are  adopted  it  will  mean  that  the  Chicago 
River  has  been  condemned  as  a  first-class  avenue  of  commerce  and  would 
be  no  longer  entitled  to  the  care  and  consideration  extended  to  such 
avenue,  and  it  is  easy  to  realize  that  under  such  conditions  that  itwould, 
as  Major  Marshall  says  in  an  interview,  gradually,  slowly  but  surely,  lose 
prestige,  until  finally  it  would  become  a  canal,  spanned  by  fixed  bridges 
and  used  for  barge  and  canal  boat  purposes.  Independent  of  the  enor- 
mous destruction  of  properties  and  values  that  this  would  entail,  let  us 
figure  additional  tax  and  burden  that  it  would  impose  on  the  people  of 
this  city  in  the  increased  cost  of  their  anthracite  coal  alone.  Shut  up 
the  Chicago  River  and  Chicago  proper  would  he  supplied  with  coal  in 
two  ways.  It  could  be  loaded  into  barges  at  South  Chicago  from  vessels 
arriving  there,  then  towed  to  a  dock  in  Chicago  River  and  unloaded  onto 


ON   BEHALF   OF  THE   CHICAGO   RIVER.  21 

that.  I  have  before  me  a  letter  from  our  chairman  in  which  he  estim- 
ates the  additional  cost  of  handling  coal  by  this  method  at  one  dollar 
per  ton.  Others  claim  it  might  be  done  for  seventy-five  cents.  For  the 
purpose  of  keeping  within  the  estimate,  let  us  figure  that  it  would  cost 
fifty  cents  per  ton.  The  only  other  method  of  getting  it  here  would  be 
by  rail.  Some  of  it  is  now  received  that  way.  The  railroads  admit  that 
they  base  their  rates  on  lake  competition.  Now  you  add  fifty  cents  per 
ton  to  the  cost  of  water  coal  and  you  add  just  that  much  to  the  cost  of 
rail  coal.  The  present  consumption  in  Chicago  is  1,500,000  tons  per 
year — for  every  one  thousand  increase  in  the  population  you  can  add  one 
thousand  tons  to  the  annual  consumption,  but  based  on  present  consump- 
tion it  means  that  the  people  of  Chicago  would  pay  $750,000  per  year 
more  for  anthracite  alone.  In  eight  years  this  would  amount  to  $6,000,- 
000,  or  the  amount  that  Major  Marshall  says  it  will  take  to  straighten, 
deepen  and  remove  obstructions  on  the  Chicago  River. 

I  have  no  fear  that  a  peojde  that  have  not  hesitated  to  expend  $25,- 
000,000  for  pure  water,  and  who  did  not  hesitate  to  expend  millions  to 
give  the  world  the  greatest  fair  that  it  has  ever  seen,  will  not  hesitate 
for  one  minute  to  expend  $6,000,000,  or  even  double  that  if  necessary, 
to  ] ireserve  her  commercial  supremacy,  if  not  her  commercial  existence, 
in  this  particular  territory. 


CITY  OF  CHICAGO. 


W.  D.  Kent,  Commissioner  of  Public  Works: — If  the  citizens 
of  Chicago  realize  the  necessity  of  the  river,  if  you  gentlemen  who  have 
interests  on  the  river,  will  pull  together  and  work  for  Chicago  and  the 
Chicago  River  only,  an  appropriation  may  be  had  from  Congress  of  at 
least  $500,000  for  the  present  year  and  for  every  year  thereafter.  It  can 
not  be  had  unless  you  have  a  united  effort.  It  is  not  in  the  interests  of 
thecity  of  Chicago  alone.  It  is  a  matter  of  importance  for  the  entire  north- 
west, and  for  the  east  too,  for  New  York  and  Pennsylvania;  and  if  the  mat- 
ter is  presented  in  that  way,  and  your  committee  proceed  again  to 
Washington  if  it  is  necessary,  and  labor  with  the  committee  on  rivers 
and  harbors,  a  majority  of  whom  feel  kindly  toward  Chicago  and  the 
Chicago  River  and  toward  Illinois,  an  appropriation  can  be  had  this 
year.  The  present  administration  is  in  hearty  accord  with  the  objects 
of  this  meeting,  and  is  willing  to  co-operate  with  you  in  any  way  it  can. 


WHAT  CHICAGO  HAS  BONIS  FOR  ITS  HARBOR. 


Richard  O'S.  Burke,  of  the  Bureau  of  Engineering  of  the 
City  of  Chicago: — In  1869  the  city  of  Chicago  expended  a  large 
amount  for  the  improvement  of  the  city  harbor  and  bridges  on  the  Chicago 
River.  There  were,  however,  two  expenses  incurred  by  the  Department 
of  Public  Works  for  the  removal  of  the  bar  in  front  of  the  harbor  at 
Chicago   which   should   have   been  borne   by  the  United  States  govern- 


22  ON   BEHALF   OF  THE   CHICAGO  RIVER. 

ment.  They  were  not  provided  with  funds  to  met  the  expenses  of  the 
Chicago  River  improvement.  Statements  have  been  made  about  the 
great  encroachments  of  the  Chicago  River.  There  are  great  encroach- 
ments, but  what  are  they  V  They  are  encroachments  upon  a  wider  dock 
line,  owned  by  the  city  of  Chicago,  to  meet  its  own  commerce.  There 
are  no  encroachments  to  speak  of  upon  the  meander  line  of  the  United 
States.  The  city  of  Chicago  has  added  to  the  area  over  five  acres  of 
her  own  territory  between  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  the  Lake  street 
bridge.  So  that  the  statements  made  by  the  United  States  engineer 
that  the  United  States  meander  lines  are  encroached  upon  will  be  found 
to  be  at  variance  with  the  facts  in  the  case.  Down  on  the  South 
Branch  to  the  Western  avenue  bridge,  which  was  the  limit  of  the 
United  States  meander  line,  the  quantity  of  territory  given  by  the  city 
of  Chicago  and  the  encroachment  on  the  meander  line  are  about  equal. 
Let  us  assume  that  they  are  a  little  more,  that  there  are  about  60,000 
feet  of  encroachment  down  there,  it  still  leaves  a  net  balance  in  favor  of 
the  city  of  Chicago  of  having  devoted  of  her  own  area  over  five  acres  of 
that  land.  There  are  four  bridges  in  the  city  of  Chicago  between  the 
mouth  of  the  river  and  the  United  States  meander  line  through  which 
vessels.  420  feet  long  and  50  feet  wide  cannot  pass.  Two  of  these  bridges 
could  be  constructed  in  order  to  allow  them  to  be  large  enough,  and  two 
bridges  could  be  moved  to  another  location,  so  as  to  meet  all  the  just 
requirements  of  vessels  420  feet  in  length  and  50  feet  in  breadth.  The 
three  tunnels  could  be  lowered  three  feet,  and  all  these  improvements 
could  be  accomplished  for  $700,000.  And  it  does  not  require  the 
$6,000,000,  I  have  heard  some  gentleman  state  as  being  the  necessities 
to  satisfy  the  demands  of  the  20  foot  channel. 

There  is  no  United  States  meander  line  on  the  north  branch.  The 
city  of  Chicago  has  made  that  concession  to  its  marine  interests.  There 
is  none  below  the  south  forks.  The  city  of  Chicago  has  added  that  to 
its  general  harbor. 

The  report  made  in  1891  under  the  Washburne  administration,  by 
the  bureau  of  engineering  to  the  then  commissioner  of  public  works, 
Congressman  Aldrich,  remunerated  what  Chicago  had  expended  for  the 
improvement  of  the  harbor.  It  showed  that  a  large  expense  has  been 
borne  by  the  city  government  that  should  have  been  borne  by  the  United 
States  government.  The  total  was  over  $9,000,000  at  that  time.  Since 
then  that  amount  has  been  largely  increased. 


PIANO  MANUFACTURERS. 


E.  S.  Conway,  Secretary  of  the  W.  W.  Kimball  Company: — 
If  it  costs  us  thirty  million  dollars  to  improve  the  Chicago  River  instead 
of  six  or  three  or  eight,  it  should  not  be  considered  one  minute  when  you 
take  into  the  consideration  the  importance  of  this  work.  We  go  out  and 
raise  in  a  few  weeks  ten  million  dollars  for  a  world's  fair.  How  much 
more  important  for  us  is  it  not  only  to  appeal  to  congress  to  do  what  is 
manifestly  its  duty,  but  for  us  to  tax  ourselves  in  order  to  add  lustre 
to  our  oreat  commercial  center. 


ON   BEHALF   OF   THE  CHICAGO  RIVER.  23 

NOT  A  CHICAGO  INSTITUTION. 


John  V.  Farwell: — Here  is  a  time  in  our  history  when  we  have 
an  officer  of  the  United  States  government  come  here  and  report  that  the 
harbor  that  has  made  this  city  has  got  to  be  closed  and  that  the  congress 
of  the  United  States  must  do  the  murder  and  he  will  be  the  coroner. 
Talk  to  me  about  closing  up  the  harbor  and  the  river  and  making  it 
simply  a  canal  for  boats.  It  is  nonsense;  no,  it  is  ridiculous,  and  a  man 
that  advocates  it  is  simply  off  his  base  (laughter.)  The  whole  country 
is  interested  in  the  Chicago  River;  it  is  not  a  Chicago  institution;  it  is 
an  institution  of  the  world  to-day. 

Mr.  Goddard  : — Tell  what  the  government  has  done  for  Galveston. 

Mr.  Farwell — the  people  of  Galveston  have  more  brass  than  we  have 
money.  They  asked  the  government  to  appropriate  $6,000,000  to  build 
their  harbor  in  order  to  make  a  town.  They  did  it.  You  see  the  result  of 
brass.  We  haven't  enough  brass  in  Chicago.  We  want  to  ask  for 
things.  That  little  town  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  getting  $6,000,000 
and  we  begging  for  $500,000  and  can't  get  it.  It's  a  shame  for  a  con- 
gress that  sits  under  a  statue  of  liberty.  But,  gentlemen  we  must  make 
that  appeal  to  congress,  and  we  can  get  it  if  we  keep  at  it. 


WOULD  SEEM  AN  ASTOUNDING  JOKE. 


S.  D.  Kimbark: — I  am  surprised  at  the  fact  that  it  was  ever  thought 
of  for  a  moment  of  closing  the  harbor  of  Chicago.  It  would  seem  like 
an  astounding  joke  if  these  gentlemen  did  not  take  it  so  seriously. 


WILL  CHICAGO  GET  IN  LINE? 


P.  B.  Weare: — Representing  the  elevator  interests  as  I  do,  I  have 
deep  regret  in  seeing  the  working  of  the  grain  trade  away  from  Chicago. 
We  are  having  a  tremendous  trouble  in  keeping  it  here.  Such  places  as 
Galveston,  New  Orleans,  Newport  News,  and  Philadelphia  are  making 
strong  efforts  to  get  the  trade  away  from  this  city.  The  only  way  is 
to  find  cheaper  and  larger  vessels  that  can  carry  more  grain  at  the  same 
time.  Now  we  have  the  river  a  portion  of  the  time  and  a  portion  of 
the  time  we  have  not  The  vessels  are  changing  now,  as  40,000  bushels 
capacity  vessels  are  now  the  lowest  and  they  have  them  up  to  200,000. 
This  winter  this  town  has  lost  in  the  state  of  Nebraska  and  Dakota 
6,000,000  bushels  of  grain,  that  has  gone  by  the  way  of  Galveston  and 
New  Orleans  to  Europe.  I  was  visited  by  a  committee  yesterday  from 
New  York  which  made  me  a  proposition  that  if  we  would  agree  to  furnish 
the  grain  they  would  make  a  proposition  of  three  cents  per  bushel  for 
the  twelve  months  in  the  year.  The  city  of  New  York  by  a  majority  of 
150,000  of  its  voters  has  appropriated  $9,000,000  to  deepen  the  Erie 
Canal,  so  it  can  carry  a  tow  of  100,000  bushels  of  grain  from  Buffalo. 
We  have  got  to  get  the  grain  of  the  northwest  and  ship  it  by  means  of 
the  Erie  Canal  to  tide  water,  by  having  our  vessels  here,  and  Ave  want 
it  so  they  can  get  here  and  come  and  winter  and  be  ready  to  go  out  in 


2-4  ON   BEHALF   OF   THE   CHICAGO   RIVER. 

the  spring  so  as  to  make  the  rate  all  the  way  of  three  cents  a  bushel. 
We  must  defeat  the  southern  competition  by  bringing  the  grain  here  and 
letting  it  lie  here  and  taking  it  out  on  the  opening  of  navigation. 
Everything  has  got  to  be  cheapened  down  to  meet  this  new  competition. 
And  if  the  United  States  government  don't  want  the  control  of  this 
river,  let  it  turn  it  over  to  Chicago  and  we  will  take  care  of  it. 


MUNCIPAL  OK  GOVERNMENT  CONTROL. 


General  Charles  E.  FitzSimons: — My  friend,  Mr.  Dunham,  was 
very  anxious  to  place  the  control  of  the  river  under  the  government  some 
years  ago.  Less  than  five  years  ago  I  told  him  that  perhaps  he  was  mak- 
ing a  mistake.  I  did  not  believe  the  country  appreciated  the  value  of 
the  Chicago  River  to  Chicago.  I  foresaw  that  if  passed  to  the  control 
of  the  general  government  the  city  council  would  hesitate  to  make  an 
appropriation  as  they  had  been  making  in  the  past  for  the  improvement 
of  the  river,  that  if  there  was  a  question  of  that  kind  a  local  govern- 
ment would  be  better  to  depend  upon.  The  city  of  Chicago  has  gone  to 
the  expense  of  $9,000,000  and  paid  the  expenses  of  the  continuation  of 
the  piers  from  the  old  lighthouse.  We  paid  for  the  dredging.  I  was 
very  much  afraid  that  just  was  had  been  done  would  occur.  I  thought 
that  it  would  be  better  for  the  city  of  Chicago  to  deal  with  this  qiiestion 
of  their  own,  but  the  great  lake  carriers  thought  that  it  was  a  national 
affair;  and  I  believe  that  after  all  Mr.  Dunham  was  right.  But  I  will 
not  surrender  my  position  entirely  to  him.  I  think  that  I  was  right, 
too.  For  the  past  five  years  the  city  of  Chicago  through  its  council  has 
given  very  meagre  appropriations  for  the  improvement  of  the  river.  The 
excuse  has  been  that  the  general  government  controlled  this  river,  and 
why  should  the  city  of  Chicago  be  called  upon  to  pay  when  it  was  under 
the  control  of  the  national  government?  The  very  dilemma  has  occured 
that  I  expected. 

UNANIMOUSLY  ADOPTED. 

Mr.  Goddard: — It  seems  that  the  expressions  of  opinion  here  are 
about  unanimous  on  this  subject,  and  I  will  offer  the  following  resolu- 
tion on  the  subject: 

Resolved,  that  the  address  of  the  River  Improvement  Association 
as  prepared  by  the  committee  on  address  be  endorsed  and  adopted  as  the 
sense  of  this  meeting;  and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  that  the  commercial,  manufacturing  and  financial  inter- 
ests o'f  the  city  of  Chicago  and  of  the  United  States,  dependent  upon  the 
Chicago  River  for  the  transportation  and  distribution  of  its  products, 
imperatively  demand  the  improvement  of  the  Chicago  River,  first  by  the 
immediate  appropriation  by  Congress  of  a  sufficient  sum  to  dredge  said 
waterway  to  a  depth  of  sixteen  feet,  and  secondly,  the  adoption  of  such 
policy  and  plans  by  the  federal  government  as  may  lead  to  a  twenty  foot 
channel,  to  be  utilized  in  connection  with  the  great  twenty  foot  channel 
between  Chicago,  Duluth  and  Buffalo  now  under  construction  by  the 
federal  government,  in  response  to  the  general  public  sentiment  of  the 
country  for  the  cheaper  transportation  of  its  products. 


ON   BEHALF   OF   THE   CHICAGO   RIVER.  25 


Receipts  by  Lake  at  Chicago  and  South  Chicago  during'  the 

year  1895. 

ARTICLES.  CHICAGO.       SO.  CHICAGO. 

Merchandise pkgs.  2,931,820  13.53!) 

Flour bbls.  94,527                 

Dry  Goods pkgs.  75,844                 

Grass  Seed bags  6,339  16.600 

Coal tons  1,129,302  139,262 

Soap bxs.  65,381                 

Rice sacks  23,297                

Coffee sacks  196,472                 

Sugar pkgs.  732,894                 

Syrup pkgs.  13,017                 

Groceries pkgs.  531,121                 

Canned  Goods pkgs.  340.015                

Grain bu.  1,451,810  55,800 

Leather bdls.  28,176                 

Furniture pes.  70,204                 

Crockery pkgs.  21,293                 

Nails kegs  87,481                 

Iron tons  6,683  16,603 

Whiting bbls.  32,475                

Stone tons  8,664                 

Paint  pkgs.  13,978                

Hides bdls.  7,921                 

Liquors bbls.  30,265                 

Marble,  Slate,  etc blocks  8,522                

Oil bbls.  12,407                 

Lumber M.  1,039,226  36.874 

Wool  and  Hair sacks  12,018                 

Hardware pkgs.  335,520                 

Cement bbls.  288,583                

Copper bars  9,586                

Paper pkgs.  287,663                 

Shingles M.  161,427  6,885 

Lath M.  32,115                 

Posts pes.  2,384,590  12,500 

R.  R.  Ties  pes.  2,363,907  40,250 

Tel.  Poles pes.  63,444  5,800 

Wood cords  22.366  637 

Bark cords  6.679                 

Green  Fruit pkgs.  4,755,388  2,140 

Cordage pkgs.  18,691                  

Hemp,  Jute,  etc pkgs.  34,654                 

Salt bbls.  527,792  1,158,571 

Salt sacks,  56,192                

Iron  Ore tons,  63,108  1.840.097 

Boots  and  Shoes pkgs.,  166,417                 

Drugs pkgs.,  138,546                 

Soda pkgs.,  118.507                 

Potatoes bu.,  222,423                

Cheese pkgs. ,  21 ,  180                 

Plaster bbls.  32.422  64,837 

Peas sacks  90,914                

Fish tons  3,329                 

Dried  Fruits pkgs.  18,970                 


26  ON   BEHALF   OF  THE   CHICAGO   RIVER. 


Shipments  by  Lake  from  Chicago  and  South  Chicago  During' 

the  Year  1895. 

ARTICLES.  CHICAGO.     SO.  CHICAGO. 

Merchandise pkgs.  ^1, 629,005  6.392 

Flour   bbls.  1,148,489  3.679 

Wheat bu.  12,299,188  688.170 

Corn bu.  40.219.266  7.670.497 

Oats bu.  12,225,558  5,050.415 

Flaxseed bu.  1,778,262               

Rye bu.  57,000               

Barley bu.  1,814,033  2,522,500 

Grass  seed sacks  36,203               

Steel  rails tons  12.386  61.161 

Coal tons  6,298  6,575 

Mill  stuffs sacks  862.025  4,847 

Gluten  meal sacks  76,960               

Glucose bbls.  62,066  4.800 

Malt sacks  127,909  .....'... 

Oil  cake sacks  186,556  2.500 

Spelter plates  196,355               

Lead pigs  339.675  11.025 

Soap bxs.  34,870  1.000 

Starch bxs.  48,629               

Lard pkgs.  75.706               

Lard tcs.  21,806               

Coffee sacks  16,322              

Tea •. chests  7,006              

Sugar bbls.  46.896               

Syrup bbls.  ,  ."^s               

Groceries pkgs.  176,886               

Canned  goods  pkgs.  39,950               

Cured  meats pkgs.  745               

Pork bbls.  3,850               

Beef bbls.  1,211               

Oatmeal bbls.  18.209               

Cornmeal bbls.  776               

Broomcorn bales  3,827               

Nails kegs  6.005  2.008 

Iron tons  4,605  2.867 

Potatoes bu.  3, 768               

Vinegar bbls.  2.045               

White  Lead pigs  8.512               

Hides bales  19.059               

Tallow pkgs.  9,993               

Liquors pkgs.  4.547               

Salt bbls.  473  li.ciio 

Oil bbls.  8,201  128,744 

Lumber M.  1,811               

Wool  and  Hair sacks  23.613               

Rags bales  5,968               

Hay tons  3.180               

Hardware pkgs.  23.981               

Copper bars  51.392               

Cement bbls.  3.295               

Glass pkgs.  900               

Copper bars  272                 


ON   BEHALF   OF   THE   CHICAGO   RIVER. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TWENTY-FOOT  CHANNEL. 


The  twenty-foot  channel  between  Chicago,  Duluth  and  Buffalo 
was  the  direct  outcome  of  the  Deep  Waterways  convention,  held  at 
Detroit,  December  18th  and  19th,  1891.  Tbis  convention  was  a  notable 
gathering:  of  the  commercial  interests  of  the  Northwest.  While  its  pri- 
mary  object  was  to  begin  an  agitation  for  a  ship  canal  between  the  Great 
Lakes  and  tidewater,  it  gave  a  forcible  endorsement  to  the  movement 
for  a  twenty-foot  channel  between  the  upper  lakes  as  the  first  step  to- 
ward a  deep-water  canal  to  the  Atlantic. 

General  O.  M.  Poe,  then  United  States  Engineer  in  charge  of  the 
great  government  works  at  Sault  Ste  Marie,  and  of  the  improvements 
between  Lake  Huron  and  Lake  Erie,  submitted  an  article  to  the  conven- 
tion, indicating  that  a  twenty-foot  channel  could  be  secured  between 
Lake  Superior,  Lake  Huron  and  Lake  Erie,  at  a  cost  not  exceeding 
$4,000,000.  General  Casey,  then  Chief  of  Engineers  of  the  United 
States  Army,  warmly  supported  the  project,  and  Congress,  in  the  win- 
ter of  1892,  made  the  requisite  appropriation.  Both  army  officers,  who 
were  in  a  large  degree  entitled  to  the  credit  of  the  undertaking,  were 
not  permitted  to  see  its  successful  completion.  General  Poe  died  in  the 
autumn  of  1895,  and  General  Casey  passed  away  in  March,  1896. 

As  soon  as  the  twenty-foot  channel  had  been  adopted  as  the  policy 
of  the  general  government,  plans  for  the  great  lock  at  Sault  Ste  Marie 
were  changed  accordingly.  Upon  its  completion  in  the  spring  of  189V, 
it  will  have  about  21  feet  of  water  on  the  mitre  sill. 

Under  the  contract  system,  which  was  adopted  by  Congress  for 
this  work,  contracts  were  made  in  the  summer  of  1892  for  the  entire 
work.  Since  then,  operations  have  been  continued  with  so  little  ado 
that  the  public  announcement  last  December  of  the  near  approach  of 
its  completion,  started  even  vesselmen,  who  generally  keep  in  close 
touch  with  the  march  of  improvement.  By  midsummer  next,  so  much 
of  the  channel  will  have  been  completed  as  to  give  from  17  to  18  feet 
of  water  from  Lake  Huron  to  Lake  Erie.  The  full  twenty  feet  between 
all  the  upper  lakes  will  not  be  available  until  the  season  of  1897. 

The  size  of  lake  vessels  has  always  been  governed  to  a  large  degree 
by  the  limit  of  draft.  In  the  early  days  of  lake  traffic,  the  shoalest 
spot  between  Chicago  and  Buffalo  was  at  the  St.  Clair  flats,  where  the 
River  St.  Clair  empties  into  Lake  St.  Clair.  In  the  50's,  boats  could 
not  get  over  the  flats  drawing  more  than  9  feet  of  water,  and  lake  trade 
was  then  done  in  small  schooners.  Then  the  general  government  con- 
structed the  St.  Clair  Flats  canal,  and  the  limit. of  draft  became  Grosse 


28  ON   BEHALF   OF   THE   CHICAGO  RIVER. 

Point,  at  the  foot  of  Lake  St.  Clair,  where  it  empties  into  Detroit 
River.  Extensive  improvements  by  the  government  at  Lime  Kilns 
Crossing,  where  the  Detroit  River  flows  into  Lake  Erie  have  always 
kept  ahead  of  the  improvements  at  Grosse  Point.  For  the  past  ten  or 
fifteen  years,  vessels  trading  between  Lake  Michigan  and  Lake  Erie 
have  been  loaded  to  the  limit  of  draft  at  Grosse  Point,  but  this  trouble- 
some obstruction  has  at  last  been  overcome  by  the  completion  of  the 
twenty-foot  channel  at  that  place. 

WHAT    OTHER    PORTS    ARE    DOING. 

The  near  approach  of  the  completion  of  the  twenty-foot  channel  has 
aroused  all  the  important  ports  on  Lake  Erie  to  the  imperative  necessity 
of  providing  adequate  harbor  accommodations  to  meet  the  new  demands 
upon  them.  A  twenty-foot  channel  without  harbors  to  match  it  would  be 
a  useless  luxury.  Cleveland,  which  is  the  largest  vessel-owning  port  on 
the  entire  chain  of  lakes,  has  asked  the  state  legislature  for  permission 
to  issue  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $500,000,  to  improve  and  enlarge  its 
harbor.  This  will  be  in  addition  to  the  sum  appropriated  by  the  gov- 
ernment to  secure  twenty-feet  to  the  harbor  line.  The  entire  harbor  and 
river  will  doubtless  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  peiTnanent  commission, 
in  order  that  the  city  can  obtain  the  fullest  benefits  from  the  develop- 
ment of  its  lake  commerce. 

Buffalo  has  appropriated  $175,000  to  deepen  its  harbor  to  twenty 
feet,  and  such  additional  sums  as  may  be  required  to  complete  the 
undertaking  will  be  provided. 

Ashtabula,  where  more  iron  ore  is  handled  than  at  any  other  place 
in  the  world,  will  be  the  first  harbor  on  Lake  Erie  to  have  twenty 
feet  of  water.  There,  the  city  of  Ashtabula  bonds  itself  for  one-third 
of  the  expense,  the  other  two-thirds  being  borne  by  the  railroads  which 
have  docks  on  the  river  front.  The  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad,  which 
controls  the  harbor  at  Fairport,  is  preparing  to  spend  large  sums  to 
secure  twenty  feet  of  water  at  that  harbor  also. 

At  none  of  these  places  has  the  general  government  assumed  con- 
trol of  the  inner  harbors,  and  its  work  will  be  confined  to  the  outer 
harbors. 

( hi  Lake  Michigan,  Chicago  is  the  first  city  to  move  toward  secur- 
ing adequate  harbor  facilities  for  the  twenty-foot  channel. 

NOTHING    BUT    BIG    SHIPS    NOW    BUILDING. 

From  the  day  the  twenty-foot  channel  became  a  certainty,  lake 
vessel  owners  have  been  preparing  for  it.  Practically  all  the  boats  for 
general  lake  trade  which  have  been  built  during  the  past  five  years,  have 
been  constructed  with  a  special  reference  for  the  time  when  they  could 
be  loaded  down  to  nineteen  or  twenty  feet,  draft.  This  has  resulted  in 
an  enormous  increase  in  their  carrying  capacity.  So  rapid  have  been 
the  strides  forward  in  naval  construction,  that  the  honor  of  "being  the 
largest  boat  on  the  lakes"  has  been  very  short-lived.  Steamers  which 
three  years   ago  were  considered  monsters,  have  already  passed  to  the 


ON   BEHALF   OP   THE   CHICAGO   RIVER.  29 

second  class.  When  the  steamship  Centurion  came  to  Chicago  in  the 
summer  of  189.3  on  her  maiden  trip,  it  was  found  that  Chicago  River 
was  too  small  for  the  craft.  Complaint  was  made  to  the  United  States 
Engineer  against  the  obstructions  which  prevented  her  getting  up 
either  branch  of  the  river,  but  Major  Marshall  paid  no  heed  to  them, 
on  the  grounds  that  the  Centurion  was  of  abnormal  size,  being  379  feet 
long.  In  less  than  three  years  the  Centurion  has  become  a  compara- 
tively small  ship,  alongside  the  great  fleet  of  boats  which  has  steadily 
come  forth  from  the  shipyards.  Not  one  of  the  steel  vessels  coming 
into  service  the  coming  season  could  get  into  Chicago  Harbor  as  it  now 
exists,  further  than  State  Street.  It  is  certain  that  there  will  be  no  de- 
crease in  the  size  of  lake  vessels,  but  the  movement  will  be  steadily 
toward  bigger  boats  to  better  meet  the  sharpening  competition  in  all 
lines  of  traffic. 


30  ON   BEHALF   OF   THE   CHICAGO   RIVER. 


Things  Every  Chicagoan  Should  Know. 


"We  cordially  approve  of  the  improvement  of  the  Calumet  River  and 
Harbor.  We  believe  that  the  future  commerce  of  Chicago  will  need  all  the 
harbor  facilities  that  can  be  furnished  by  the  Chicago  River  and  the  Calumet 
River,  even  if  both  are  fully  improved.  We  strenuously  protest  against  the 
2)olicy  of  improving  the  Calumet  and  neglecting  Chicago  River,  for  we  insist 
that  the  Chicago  River  will  be  hereafter,  as  it  has  been  heretofore,  the  prin- 
cipal harbor  of  Chicago,  and  must  eventually  be  improved  to  meet  the  largest 
demands  of  lake  navigation."' — Address,  page  4- 

"The  business  going  to  and  from  lake  ports  consigned  over  the  railroads 
centering  in  Chicago  is  steadily  increasing,  and  demands  the  use  of  vessels  of 
the  largest  capacity.  The  river  must  be  improved  or  this  immense  tODnage 
will  diminish  and  seek  other  outlets." — L.  O.  Goddard,  page  S. 

"The  demand  now  made  by  all  the  commercial  interests  of  Chicago  for 
the  immediate  deepening  of  the  channel  of  the  river  to  sixteen  feet   is  most 
timely,  and  a  defeat  of  the  project  would  be  a  most  serious  blow  to  the  com- 
mercial supremacy  of  the  city.  This  is  not  a  local  measure  only."- 
Marvin  Hughitt,  page  9. 

"It  is  difficult  to  conceive  what  the  result  would  be  should  these  indus- 
tries be  forced  to  close  or  move  elsewhere  on  account  of  failure  to  improve  or 
maintain  the  channel  on  the  lines  heretofore  adopted.  It  is  sufficient  to  say 
that  such  a  policy  would  be  suicidal  as  far  as  Chicago's  commercial  interests 
are  concerned,  and  that  it  would  be  a  gross  breach  of  faith  in  the  case  of  those 
whose  investments  have  been  based  on  the  quasi  promise  of  the  government  to 
maintain  navigable  waterways  here,  as  well  as  elsewhere." — A.  J.  Earlixg, 
page  10. 

"Every  carload  of  freight  diverted  from  the  Chicago  River  to  the  Calumet 
involves  an  expense  of  three  dollars  per  car,  which  upon  the  tonnage  received 
from  and  delivered  to  the  lake  would  amount  to  millions  of  dollars  annually. 
*  *  *  *  'pne  additional  charge  would  make  it  impossible  to  handle  the 
business."— C.  H.  Chappell,  page  10. 

"The  maintenance  of  the  river  in  at  least  its  present  state  of  usefulness  is 
demanded  by  all  the  interests  of  Chicago." — W.  G.  Purdy,  page  11. 

"Two-thirds  of  the  cargoes  moved  by  lake  could  not  pay  the  charge  for 
land  carriage  at  any  price  which  would  pay  the  carrier  the  actual  cost  of 
moving  it.  *  *  *  It  is  freely  predicted  that  lake  commerce  will  double  or 
even  treble  in  twenty  years.     Chicago  should  have  her  share  with  a 


ON    BEHALF   OF   THE   CHICAGO   RIVER.  31 

harbor  that  does  not  need  creating-  but  improvement  up  to  the  standards  of  the 
present  and  future." — Harvey  D.  Goulder,  page  IS. 

"The  disastrous  results  of  this  condition  (of  Chicago  River)  will  be  more 
far-reaching  than  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  Its  effects  will  be  felt  throughout 
the  entire  Northwest  and  will  in  time  necessitate  the  turning  of  traffic  to  and 
from  the  Northwest  to  other  points  with  better  harbor  facilities,  that  can 
accommodate  our  modern  lake  vessels.  This  time  is  near  at  hand  and  unless 
something  is  done  to  better  the  conditions  of  the  Chicago  River,  and  done  very 
quickly,  the  effects  of  a  change  will  be  very  exjoensive,  not  only  to  the  city  of 
Chicago,  but  to  all  transportation  interests  and  the  country  at  large. 
The  condition  of  Chicago  River  and  harbor  is  a  disgrace  to  modern  civiliza- 
tion.''—James  Davidson,  page  12. 

"There  is  a  class  of  business  which  may  be  done  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
city,  but  the  greatest  necessity  to  the  city  trade  is  the  means  of  doing  business 
within  the  heart  of  the  city,  and  where  merchandise  has  the  least  handling  and 
cartage.  Trade  is  becoming  so  close  that  the  least  transfer  of  merchandise  is 
what  will  take  the  business." — Alexander  McDougall,  page  13. 

"The  Calumet  River  should  be  improved,  but  not  only  the  people  of 
Chicago  but  the  people  of  the  whole  country  would  be  benefited  by  the  ex- 
penditure of  six  million  dollars  in  order  to  give  us  a  depth  of  twenty  feet  from 
the  mouth  of  Chicago  River  to  Western  Avenue  and  the  Stockyards,  on  both 
branches." — James  B.  Galloway,  pa</e  io. 

"I  presume  we  are  to  regard  the  improvement  of  the  river  absolutely  as 
a  business  proposition,  and  regard  the  river  as  simply  an  avenue  of  commerce. 
*  *  *  According  to  the  census  of  1890  there  were  ten  thousand  factories  in 
Chicago.  Why  are  they  here  ?  Simply  because  of  the  excellent  transporta- 
tion facilities  this  city  affords.  What  does  it  mean  to  remove  our  river  com- 
merce twelve  miles  distant?  It  means  that  that  which  has  chiefly  brought 
these  manufactories  here  is  sacrificed  and  they  are  depreciated  in  value  if  not 
utterly  ruined," — J.  P.  Tkacy,  page  14. 

"The  merchants  of  Chicago  have  invested  enormous  sums  along  Chicago 
River.  *  *  *  These  merchants  have  a  right  to  demand  that  vessels  shall 
have  facilities  for  economically  navigating  the  river;  also  that  goods  shall  be 
delivered  and  received  as  near  their  doors  as  possible." — Hugh  McMillan, 
page  10. 

•■In  the  absence  of  government  aid,  or  other  aid  adequate  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  river,  the  alternative  is  presented,  the  death  of  Chicago  as  a  com- 
mercial and  industrial  center,  and  I  think  there  is  nothing  more  to  present  the 
Committee  on  Rivers  and  Harbors  in  Washington.  *  *  *  The  moment  you 
stop  the  commerce  of  the  river  you  arrest  every  other  improvement,  and  you 
will  find  it  surely  impossible  for  the  city  to  maintain  its  present  status.  You 
produce  decadence  and  chronic  paralysis  must  follow.  *  *  *  The  river  is 
the  connection  between  the  commerce  of  the  lake  and  the  great  lines  of  rail- 
road."— George  J.  Brine,  page  18. 

"For  more  than  twenty-five  years  Chicago  has  been  the  greatest  lumber 
market  in  the  world.  Its  supremacy  has  been  maintained  solely  because  the 
Chicago  River  was  navigable   and   lumber  laden  boats  may  come  from  the 


32  ON   BEHALF   OF   THE   CHICAGO  RIVER. 

northern  lake  ports  and  be  unloaded  directly  upon  the  docks  over  which  this 
enormous  product  is  handled.  *  *  *  Close  Chicago  River  to  navigation, 
remove  these  lumber  yards  to  the  Calumet  region  and  what  are  we  to  do  with 
the  six  hundred  million  feet  of  lumber  coming  here  by  lake  for  consumption 
in  the  city,  which  must  be  transferred  by  rail  or  wagon.  This  would  mean  an 
annual  expense  of  nine  hundred  thousand  dollars." — W.  B.  Judson, page  19. 

"The  great  city  of  Chicago,  which  would  never  have  existed  in  th,is 
present  location  but  for  this  very  river,  has  allowed  it  to  be  encroached  upon, 
obstructed  and  abused  until  to-day  it  is  the  puniest  and  smallest  thing  of  its 
kind  anywhere  on  the  lakes  where  there  is  a  city  pretending  to  do  a  shipping 
business.  *  *  *  A  public  sentiment  has  been  built  up  against  it,  and  it  was 
too  generally  regarded  as  a  nuisance  and  something  to  be  got  rid  of  at  the 
earliest  possible  moment.  What  wonder  that  a  government  engineer  should 
report  against  it.  If  Major  Marshall's  report  is  accepted  it  will  gradually 
lose  prestige  until  finally  it  will  become  a  canal,  spanned  by  fixed  bridges  and 
used  for  canal  boats  and  barges." — W.  S.  Bogle,  page  20. 

•'The  present  (city)  administration  is  in  hearty  accord  with  the  objects 
of  this  meeting  and  willing  to  co-operate  with  you  in  any  way  it  can." — W.  D 
Kent,  page  21. 

"If  it  costs  us  thirty  millions  of  dollars  to  improve  the  Chicago  River, 
instead  of  six  or  eight,  it  should  not  be  considered  one  minute  when  you  take 
into  consideration  the  importance,  of  the  work." — E.  S.  Conway,  page  22. 

"Talk  to  me  about  closing  up  the  harbor  and  the  river  and  making  it 
simply  a  canal  for  boats!  It  is  nonsense!  No,  it  is  ridiculous,  and  a  man  that 
advocates  it  is  simply  off  his  base." — John  V.  Faewell,  page  23. 

"I  have  deep  regret  in  seeing  the  working  of  the  grain'trade  away  from 
Chicago.  We  are  having  a  tremendous  trouble  in  keeping  it  here.  The  only 
way  to  keep  it  is  to  find  cheaper  and  larger  vessels  that  can  carry .more^grain 
at  the  same  time." — P.  B.  Weare,  page  23. 


RVAN   &   HART.    PRINTERS.    22  &   2-*  CUSTOM   HOUSE   PLACE. 


